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Ayder comes as a surprise—a
Turkish alpine village!
Surprising but true:
Turkey's eastern Black
Sea coast resembles noplace so
much as mountainous Central
Europe with its thick stands
of evergreen trees, cascading streams
of chill water, high mountain pastures
("alps,"
called yayla in
Turkish), and hearty, ruddy-complexioned
high-altitude (alt. 1300 meters/4265
feet) folk.
More surprises: the
citizens of Ayder, perched on the slopes
of the Kaçkar Mountains, are
famed throughout Turkey as pastry
chefs. Many move to the cities
to ply their trade in fancy hotels
or their own little pastane (pastry
shops), returning to Ayder to vacation
or retire.
Why visit Ayder? For the scenery,
the invigorating mountain air,
the hiking and trekking possibilities,
and for a dip in the thermal
baths. Hot springs burst
from the earth, run into bathing pools,
then slip through the forests, cooling,
on their way to the Black
Sea.
With your own car,
you can visit Ayder on a day-trip
from Trabzon.
Without your own car, take a bus or minibus east
from Trabzon to the seacoast town of Pazar (or,
if you can find one, to Çamlihemsin,
the town up the mountainside from Pazar
on the way to Ayder.) One bus makes
the entire run from Trabzon to Ayder
each afternoon in summer.
Ayder has numerous hotels
and pensions where you can
spend the night, but reserve
ahead on summer weekends.
On weekends (especially Sunday) in
summer, crowds of local tourists stream
up the mountainside to enjoy the fresh
air and cool breeze. At other times,
you may have to hitch a ride or take
a taxi to
cover the 19 km (12 miles) between Çamlihemsin
and Ayder.
Distances & Travel Times
Artvin: 168 km (104
miles) NE, 3.5 hours
Çamlihemsin:
19 km (12 miles) N, 30 minutes
Hopa: 52 km (32 miles)
N, 1.25 hours
Pazar: 41 km (25
miles) N, 50 minutes
Rize: 50 km (31 miles)
NW, 1.25 hours
Trabzon: 120
km (75 miles) E, 2.25 hours
Black Sea
Coast
Black
Sea Ferries
Central
Anatolia
Turkey
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